When a chatty little girl visited Father Christmas, the last thing Paul Haslam expected to be on her wish list was a boob job.
“They were two sisters, about two and five, and the older one was doing all the talking,” the professional Santa Claus tells Sky News.
A Barbie dreamhouse, some Teletubbies toys and sweets were all on the five-year-old’s Christmas list.
“I said to her, ‘Thank you, is that all?’ And she thought for a moment and went: ‘Mummy wants a boob job’,” he says, laughing.
“You should have seen the dad’s face.”
Paul has been working as Santa for 16 years, a side hustle he started after spotting a poster in his local garden centre recruiting a “tubby guy to come work for us in four weeks in December”.
“I thought it sounded like a laugh,” he says. “The first time I did it I was absolutely hooked.
“I was in the grotto for eight hours and when I came out, I said to the guy in charge, ‘that was so much fun, I should be paying you’.”
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Inside a Santa Claus academy
‘The sack didn’t open’
His career as Mr Claus has even taken him to the stage with Mariah Carey.
“I got a call asking what I was doing the next day, and was told Mariah was performing in Manchester and her Santa had let her down.
“The proviso was, make sure you’ve got your sack – they’re going to fill it with cuddly toys and you and Mariah will throw them into the crowd.”
But when the big moment came, the sack didn’t open.
“The guy who had tightened it was her bodyguard, he was huge, and it took us ages to get it open.”
Paul has taken to the stage with Mariah Carey
‘Sausage factories’
Gary Cordes, a former solicitor, also took up being a Santa as a fun way to fill retirement.
He too started out in garden centres, but says the heavy footfall venues are just “sausage factories”.
“It is about people being pushed through, no time to talk to the children,” he says.
“In one, I was stuck in this windowless room for nine hours and was absolutely wrecked by the end of it. I want to engage with the families, actually have time with them.”
Gary is a former solicitor who found a fun way to fill retirement
Similarly, Paul says he once worked in a venue that told him he had to get each family in and out in 30 seconds.
“They just wanted to take people’s money and get them out.”
Gary now works at larger venues, including recently at the O2 Arena during Disney On Ice, as well as working corporate events.
“I love to interact with the kids, I try and move around the room or sit on the floor in front of the fireplace. They don’t often expect Santa to move around,” he says.
Gary working as Santa at the O2 Arena
‘My son thinks I am helping Santa’
Simon Young is young in every sense – at 37, he’s on the lower end of the age scale to work as a Santa. But when their existing Santa dropped out two years ago at Reuthe’s The Lost Garden Of Sevenoaks, he agreed to be a last-minute replacement.
“Because Santa is usually quite old, as you go into winter that can be quite unreliable with dropping out because of flu, or illness, and that’s what happened to us. We had three days to find someone.”
Simon has five children, aged from six to 16, and his youngest still believes in Father Christmas
“He knows I am Santa but thinks that the real Santa asked me for help to see the children here. He thinks the real Santa comes to see me, drops off loads of presents and I then give them out to other children.”
Recently, his youngest son came home saying a fellow pupil on the playground had told him Santa wasn’t real.
His seven-year-old was quick to reassure his brother, telling him the child at his school was being stupid, “because where else did presents come from, does he think parents just buy them?”
Simon working as Santa
Hilarious to heartbreaking
Not every child enjoys their visit to Santa, says Gary.
“If they’re not old enough, sometimes they just scream because they are scared,” he says. “So, I just say to the parents, we will have a good chat next year. I don’t want them to have a bad experience.”
They can sometimes come in with a big, long list, and Simon says he will look to the parents: “But I never commit to anything.”
Simon is a former member of the Royal Navy who served during the Gulf War, but says this job is “higher pressure”.
“There is so much weight attached to it, you don’t want to say the wrong thing and ruin someone’s Christmas,” he says.
And not every request a child has is one that’s easy to be filled.
“My first year, second day, I had a little girl who said she didn’t want her terminally ill dad to die,” says Simon. “She had been looking forward to coming to see Santa so she could ask him that.”
Paul grows emotional when he talks about similar experiences.
“I have had children ask if grandma or grandpa can come visit them again,” he says.
“I hold my hand up to them – we aren’t allowed to hug them – and I say that’s not in my bit of magic. My bit of magic is different. But I’ll tell you what, when I get back, if I can find them I will have a word and I’ll tell them you still love them.
“That’s the best I can do.”
Paul has been working as Santa for more than a decade
The cost of Santa’s beard
Being a Santa is not going to make you rich, especially not when you invest in your own costume, says Paul.
His beard is made from the belly hair of a yak and cost him £650.
“I spent a week’s wages on a wig and beard,” he says. “But you don’t do it for the money.”
And while some opportunities can be lucrative – Gary was offered a stint at Lapland for £1,500 a week – Paul has heard of companies abroad offering just £50 a day to Santa and his elves.
“I also did an event with a reindeer – the reindeer got paid more than I did,” Paul says.
“You’ve got to love the job, you don’t do it for the money.”
Blondie drummer Clem Burke has died at the age of 70
The band said Blurke had been diagnosed with cancer, and described his death as a “profound loss”.
He featured on all the Debbie Harry-fronted group’s studio albums since joining a year after their formation in 1975.
Blurke was with the band from their self-titled debut, through their 1978 classic Parallel Lines, to 2017’s Pollinator.
Drummer Burke.
Pic: Reuters
In a statement on Blondie’s Instagram, Harry and the band’s guitarist, Chris Stein, said: “It is with profound sadness that we relay news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Clem Burke following a private battle with cancer.
“Clem was not just a drummer, he was the heartbeat of Blondie.
“His talent, energy, and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable.
“Beyond his musicianship, Clem was a source of inspiration both on and off the stage. His vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
“Clem’s influence extended far beyond Blondie, a self-proclaimed ‘rock and roll survivalist’, he played and collaborated with numerous iconic artists.”
Burke in his performance at Festival Estereo Picnic 2023.
Pic: AP
Burke featured on Iggy Pop’s 1982 album Zombie Birdhouse and also performed with Bob Dylan, The Ramones, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and Joan Jett.
The statement went on to say Burke had left an “indelible mark on every project he was part of”.
It added: “We extend our deepest condolences to Clem’s family, friends, and fans around the world. His legacy will live on through the tremendous amount of music he created and the countless lives he touched.”
Burke, who performed on classic tracks such as Call Me, Heart Of Glass and One Way Or Another, made his final live appearance with Blondie last year.
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Blondie performing during Glastonbury Festival in 2023.
Pic: Invision/AP
Among those paying tribute to him was Kinks guitarist Dave Davies, who said: “I feel saddened that Clem Burke was taken from us so soon.
“May he rest in peace, spectacular drumming, we were friends.”
Nancy Sinatra said: “My heart is shattered. Clem became an icon as a member of Blondie, but he was also an important part of my band, the K.A.B. I was blessed to call him my friend.
“If I ever needed him, he was there. Always. Sending healing prayers and comfort to his widow, Ellen, his family, and all who loved him.”
Entertainment
Olivier Awards: US actor says ‘special relationship firmly intact’ despite Trump’s tariffs
British star Lesley Manville and American actor John Lithgow have won the acting categories at this year’s Olivier Awards, which recognise excellence in London theatre.
Lithgow, 79, played Roald Dahl in Giant, which is about the children’s author wondering whether to make a public apology.
While accepting his award he appeared to reference the current controversy over Donald Trump’s second term as US president.
The Conclave star quipped: “It’s not always easy to welcome an American into your midst, and at this particular moment, it’s probably a little more complicated than usual.”
He also told the audience at the Royal Albert Hall that the “special relationship is still firmly intact”, despite Mr Trump imposing tariffs on British exports to the US.
His co-star, English actor Elliot Levey, took best actor in a supporting role.
Giant was also named best new play.
Lesley Manville was best actress. Pic: PA
Manville, 69, was honoured for her performance in the Greek tragedy Oedipus at the Wyndham’s Theatre.
She said she felt “emotional” while accepting her statuette because it was a production she had “felt very strongly about being” in.
Manville, who played Princess Margaret in The Crown, added that she was taking an early flight to Dublin on Monday to do some filming, and would not be getting “much sleep tonight”.
Romola Garai was best actress in a supporting role. Pic: PA
Best actress in a supporting role went to Romola Garai for her performance in The Years, based on a memoir by French writer Annie Ernaux.
Garai, whose film credits include Scoop and Atonement, was nominated in the same category for Giant.
Elliot Levey was best actor in a supporting role. Pic: PA
Dame Imelda Staunton won a fifth Olivier, for best actress in a musical for the London revival of classic musical Hello, Dolly!
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button won best new musical, a best actor musical award for Lark Rise To Candleford actor John Dagleish, and the outstanding musical contribution award.
The annual event was co-hosted by British singer Beverley Knight and Pose star Billy Porter.
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
Read more from Sky News:
Tributes to ‘genius’ Kilmer
Richest billionaires named
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
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